Hello, Facebook friends! I like you so much I’m going to send you presents on the Internet, like iTunes gift cards or wine. Yes, as long as you’re at least 21 and I’m over 21 (I am!) I can give you the gift of the grape via Facebook. There are only two weeks left of shopping before Christmas, so Facebook is banking on this new service, which rolls out to all users today, to bring in the bucks. [More]
Facebook Rolls Out Gifts Service Today To All Users So You Can Send Your Friends Wine
By December 12, 2012
The Dead Have Risen And Are Liking Stuff On Facebook
By December 12, 2012
In the past few months, you might have noticed some odd things on Facebook. You see sponsored posts telling you what your friends have clicked “Like” on lately, but they’re out of character. Liberals “like” Mitt Romney. Anti-corporate activists “like” finance companies. A person without a car “likes” Subaru. And dead people “like”… well, doing much of anything after they’ve died is pretty impressive. The users insist that the out-of-character clicks can’t possibly be real, but Facebook insists they can’t possibly be fake. What’s going on here? [More]
Having Trouble Voting On Facebook’s New Site Governance Policy? You’re Not Alone
By December 5, 2012
Yesterday we urged you to vote on Facebook’s new site governance policy before the deadline ends on Dec. 10, as important privacy policies and the very right to vote on such changes hang in the balance. While writing that story, I was unable to vote using Chrome and instead got an error code repeatedly, but figured it was just some pesky problem I was alone in having. Not so, as many of our readers have chimed in with similar tales of being unable to vote. [More]
Instagram Breaking Images On Twitter Because It Wants You On Instagram, Not Twitter
By December 5, 2012
Full disclosure: I like Instagram (Cats! Clouds! Feet!). I will often share photos I take on it on Twitter, but I rarely do on Facebook. Last night I noticed that several photos I’d tweeted out never made it onto Twitter at all, and then this morning came rumblings that Instagram photos on Twitter were showing up broken or cropped. Why? Instagram, which was recently acquired by Facebook, did that on purpose, the company says. [More]
Facebook Wants You To Vote On Policy That Wouldn’t Let You Vote On Future Policies
By December 4, 2012
Facebook is at it again, this time asking its users to vote on some new changes to its data use policy and statement of rights and responsibilities. The kind of stuff that you might ignore, if you didn’t know that allowing the changes would mean you can’t vote on policy changes in the future. Users have until Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. ET to vote, and so far most people aren’t in favor of the changes. Surprising. [More]
Facebook Stock Down More Than 50%, Schadenfreude Still Rising
By August 31, 2012
Facebook stock has reached a new low following news that analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Bank of Montreal have lowered their price target for the stock. [More]
Facebook Takes Big Step Backward Toward Traditional Advertising
By August 15, 2012
As we predicted back in its pre-IPO days in May, Facebook would need to give up on its current model of minimal and oddly placed ad units if it wanted to survive as a publicly traded company with a value anywhere near what it wants the stock market to think it’s worth. And as that stock price continues to hover at half of the IPO value, the company appears to have taken the first big step toward more traditional advertising, by testing a way for businesses to pay for ads that pop up in the streams of users who did not necessarily “like” that particular advertiser. [More]
EA Sues Zynga Over Facebook Game That Also Has Simulated People Doing Everyday Things
By August 3, 2012
There’s a fight brewing in social media gaming land: Electronic Arts is steamed at Zynga over its new “The Ville” game, which EA claims is a total ripoff of “The Sims Social,” both games that are played on Facebook. EA is suing, claiming The Ville is an “unmistakable” copy of The Sims Social. Both do have characters that are you know, people, who do things like build homes and put fancy virtual stuff in them. [More]
Judge In Facebook Settlement Doesn't Understand Why Users Shouldn't Get Some Money
By August 3, 2012
A U.S. District judge tasked with bestowing final approval on the legal settlement between Facebook and its users over the “Sponsored Stories” ads is crunching the numbers in the case and he’s just a bit befuddled. Both Facebook and the plaintiffs floated a $123 million amount as the value of the settlement, but then somehow the company is only going to hand over $20 million in legal fees and donations to charity. [More]
Will More Mobile Facebook Ads Be Annoying Enough To Drive Users Away?
By July 26, 2012
Earlier today, Facebook’s very own Mark Zuckerberg and the site’s other head honchos held a conference call with investors to discuss the company’s first earnings report since it went public back in May. Given the stock’s not-stellar performance and investors’ concerns about Facebook’s ability to actually, ya know… make money, the Zuck did his best to liven up spirits by saying the company is beefing up its mobile ad strategy. Which yes, means ads for Facebook users on their smartphones and tablets. Let the clogging begin. [More]
Facebook’s Cash Cow Zynga Blaming Some Of Its Gaming Problems On The Social Network
By July 26, 2012
Is the era of FarmVille domination over? The creator of that popular online social game as well as a slew of others is facing some big problems, after Zynga’s stock opened 40% lower today than yesterday. Its putting some of the blame on the decline on its partner on the farm, Facebook, for changing up the social networking platform. [More]
Chick Fil-A Denies Creating Facebook Account To Defend Company In Comments
By July 25, 2012
As we mentioned briefly in our earlier story about Chick fil-A, the Internet is abuzz with accusations that the fast food chain created a bogus Facebook user to go into the comments with the intention of defending the company. But a rep for Chick fil-A tells Consumerist it has nothing to do with this fictional fan. [More]
Yoga Teacher Says She Was Fired For Telling Facebook Employee To Stop Using Phone In Class
By July 10, 2012
Nothing says calm, peaceful meditation like someone fiddling around on their phone in the middle of a yoga class. Which is why one instructor who was leading a group at Facebook says she told her students to leave phones off during the session. She says a Facebook employee didn’t like being told to stay away from her phone, costing the instructor her job. [More]
Did Facebook Mess With Your Address Book Contacts? Social Network Says It’s Looking Into Email Syncing Issue
By July 2, 2012
It wasn’t enough fun for Facebook to change users’ default email addresses to its own “@facebook.com” addresses, nope. The contact snafu moved beyond the confines of the social network, with users reporting over the weekend that since their phones sync up with Facebook accounts, contact information in address books also switched to @facebook.com addresses. [More]
Remember When Facebook Changed Your Default Email To The One It Provides That You Never Use?
By June 26, 2012
You know that one time you were like, “Hey, who needs this personal email I use on a daily basis, when I have Facebook email! Time to tell everyone they should contact me at my @facebook.com email address, and only there!”? No? That’s probably because recently, Facebook went ahead and quietly switched users’ primary email address to its in-house email address without bothering to really tell anyone about it. [More]
Facebook Wants You To Find Friends On The Go With New Mobile Feature
By June 25, 2012
UPDATE: Following a bit of a freak out over the new friend-finding feature, Facebook has already pulled it, claiming it wasn’t really supposed to be in wide release yet. [More]
Facebook Agrees To Let Users Control Whether Or Not They’re Advertising Something
By June 21, 2012
Facebook has finally agreed that yeah, maybe users should be able to control whether or not it appears to their friends that they’re advertising a product or page. Fancy that! As part of the settlement in a lawsuit brought by five users, Facebook says it will change its controls to enable members to control which content can be used in Sponsored Stories. [More]
Facebook Reportedly Set To Shell Out $10 Million In Sponsored Stories Lawsuit
By June 18, 2012
Handing over $10 million in a lawsuit settlement doesn’t sound like a great result for a company, unless, however, that company is Facebook and it could’ve potentially had to pay billions. Back in May it was reported that the company had settled with users suing over what they called a “misleading advertising scheme” involving “Sponsored Stories,” but the terms were undisclosed at that time. [More]
